When Fan was on the run, a man took the opportunity to steal a bell and tried to run away with it on his back. However, the bell was too big to be carried, so he planned to smash it with a hammer before carrying it. But when he smashed it, the bell made a loud banging sound. He was afraid that others would hear the sound of the bell and take it away, so he hurriedly covered his ears tightly and continued to knock. It is understandable that he was afraid that others would hear the sound of the bell, but to cover his ears and think that no one else could hear it is ridiculous.

The story is from "Lü Shi Chun Qiu - Self-knowledge" (吕氏春秋-自知), in which "covering one's ears and stealing a bell" was said to be "covering one's ears and stealing a bell", which is a metaphor for stupid and self-deceiving cover-up behavior.

The original text is as follows:

When Fan died, the people got a bell and wanted to take it away, but the bell was too big to be taken away; when they destroyed it with a hammer, it made a sound. The bell was too big to carry; they destroyed it with a hammer and it made a loud noise. It is not a good idea for people to hear it, but it is not a good idea for oneself to hear it!

Notes:

1.

Fan's death: Fan was a nobleman of Jin at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and fled to Qi after being defeated by four other nobles.

Death, fleeing.

2.

Bell: an ancient percussion instrument.

3.

Negative: carrying something on one's back.

4.

Hammer (chuí): a mallet or stick.

5.

Fang (huàng) Ran: to describe the sound of a bell. Covering the ears and stealing the bells picture

6.

遽（jù）：rapid.

7.

Bad (bèi): absurd.

8.

Evil (e): fear.